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ELLIE LAUK4: 



Ofi, 



THE BOEDER ORPHAN. 



A DRAMA. 



-^ 



<v- COPYRIGHT >^ 



By Rev. JAMES O'LEARY, D.\>. 



t^ 



NEW YORK: 

i\ O'SHEA, 27 BARCLAY STREET. 

P. DONAHOE, FRANKLIN STREET, BOSTOK. 

J. GRAHAM, MADISON STREET, CHICAGO. 

PRICE ONE DOiiliAR. 

/ ^>/ 






Lutered according to Act of Ccngres.s, iu the year 18T1, 

By JAMES O'LEARY, D.D., 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at VVashingtou. 



DRAMATIS PERSONS. 



TERESA, 1 SHABNAYE, an Indian Chief. 

STANISLAUS, [ SHE-BUFFALO, a Squaw. 

CONSTANTIA, J ^^*'- WALLA-WALLA, ) 

IRENE, J WINA, f Papooses. 

ELLIE LAURA, the Border Orphan. McSHANE, Colonel. 

CLARA, an Illmois Girl. FATHER TOM. 

ESTA, a Massachusetts Girl. CROTTY, [ ^ . . 

IDA, a New York Girl. KINSELLA, pettlerB. 

DELIA, AGNES, MARIA, ETHEL, ANNA, " 
ANASTASIA, JULIA, JANE, HANNA, rnpils. 

CORA, EULALIA, WINNIE, ANGELINA, ] 



J 



PREFACE, 



This drama was writtea for the pupils of St. 
Joseph's Academy, Brooklyn, E. D. 

It is an attempt to meet a demand for amuse- 
ment and instruction in Catholic educational in- 
stitutions. 

There are l-jut three scenes ; one in a school- 
room, one by the bank of a river, and one in an 
Indian wigwam. The drama is founded on fact, 
the saving of the white settlers along the Illinois 
river by Shabna3"e during the Black Hawk war. 
Ellie Laura is a fictitious character and a repre- 
sentative of the sufferings, the vicissitudes, and 
the combinations that have taken place in settling 
our vast Western countr3\ The plot, the char- 
acters, and the moral of this drama, are remitted 
to the judgment of the public, and may be found 
to possess a living interest for the inhabitants of 
Illinois along the Illinois river. The songs have 



^y PREFACE. 

been set to music by a Sister of St. Joseph's 

Academy. 

As this drama was written at the request of 
Rev. S. Malone, Pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul's 
Church, Brooklyn ; to him it is dedicated, with a 
hope that it will remain a witness of his good 
heart, clear head, and deep sense of principle. 

Eev. Dr. J. O'Leary. 

Brooklyn, January 26, 1872. 



PROLOGUE. 

An Acrostic to Rev. Sylvester Malone. 

Rise and come, gentle hearers, with me to the West, 
Enchantingly follow the sun to his rest, 
View the wild prairie spread and wild buffalo roam, 
See the forests arise from the deep precious loam 
Yclad in the grandeur of age and of joy — - 
Looking proud by the rivers of proud Illinois ! 

View the mountains uprise and in majesty grow, 
Enrobed with the forest and crowned with the snow ! 
Sun-silvered the woodland, by the broad stream and bhie. 
The deer, and the elk, and the bear hides from view ; 
Encumbered by naught and far wilder than these, 
Rude Indians fashion their wigwams of trees. 

Mellifluous riugeth the prairie winds' strain. 

And liberty loveth the sky-bounded plain ; 

Lo ! Liberty, chainless, pure spirit of light, 

O'er the wide prairie wanders encircled with might ! 

Now, then, come, gentle folks, to the wild West with me, 

Ellie Laura, the lost border orphan to see. 



i 



ELLIE LAUEA. 



SCENE I. 

In a Schoolroom at Morbis, Ills. 

Elite Laura soliloquizing. 

Here, in the wilds of distant Illinois, 
There is a sadness indescribable, 
Which, day by day, and year by year, to me 
Has clung and deepens — yet I know not how ! 
Friends — I have ; and Religion lifts her shield 
To guard me, and consoles me with a balm 
And gentle judging kinduess, which not aught 
Of earth begets. Religion follows me, 
Fans me, soothes me, and consolations bright 
Sheds round me, hoping to impart some cheer, 
Some joy of lasting kind ; but settled gloom 
And sense of sorrow irremovable. 
Press on me inwardly. Am I alone ? 
From the unseen recesses of my heart, 
A melancholy mist of thoughts exhales 
To ever vapor and bedew my brain- 
Am I in company? The sunshine fair 



\ 



10 • Ullie Laura ; or\ 

Of fair companions' faces, rests on me 

As beams upon the deep and troubled sea. 

In prayer tliere is a sombre quietness, 

An unfalfilled and scarcely tasted sweet, 

That in the boundless void, where shapeless sprites 

Inhabit, hapless beings be as I. 

But how know I what is, or is to be, 

Away in that impenetrable void ? 

Why fly from what I s&e and most admire 

To seek a solace of phantastic form ? 

The ppst is changeless, changeless what to come ; 

Time as a river flows, and by the stream 

Of my existence is a margin, marred 

With thoughts which now recede and now approach, 

As bluffs that grimly guard the banks 

Of 3^on bhie, deep, wide- sweeping Illinois. 

Time wa'^, in younger years of my young Lfe, 

When all was undisturbed and unobsctired. 

As where Mirooka sees yon prairie plain. 

Has thou no charms, O Morris ? Kankakee ! 

Canst thou not send some gentle breeze to breathe 

Aroma rife with spells ? From Fox, fair stream 

Of lovely vales, where sweat Aurora smiles. 

Is there no welcome gale? Ye virgin leas. 

Ye unmolested and untrodden groves, ■ 

Ye boundless wilds, ye prairie-wandering streams, 

Whose magic life and spell my spirit feels, 

Can ye not make my sullen spirit smile ? J 

Or did I wander fi'om the far East — 



The Border Orphan. w 

Enters Sister Teresa. 
Sister Teresa, Dear cliikl, 

It is a glorious morning. Oh ! There is 
An exquisite calm reigning evei-j where. 

No clouds of treacherous form are visible 

The ah' abroad no murky aspect wears, 
But a serenely sweet bewitching smile 
Laughs on the face of nature : and, anon, 
What with delightful weather, with superb 
Scenery, and, it may be, with some new 
Eomantic incidents — what with our mates 
Exultant and rejoicing by the stream, 
Think you not, Ellie Laura, we shall have 
A glorious day in our excursion trip ? 
Ellie Laura. Surely. It will much glad my many fi'iends. 
The pupils long expectant speak thereof 
With much enthusiasm, and not unmixed 
With prayer that all will prove a great success. 
Teresa. Ellie, it must delight you much, being so 

Congenial to your own disposition. 
Ellie Laura. Assuredly. I feel a secret charm 
In this wild western country ; as if God 
Had made it Eden-like, and honored us, 
Its first^ inhabitants (the roaming tribes 
We mark not) by here gathering, planting us. 
I love its newness, wildness, fruitfulness, 
Its greatness, unapproached magnificence— 
They always glad me so. 
^^^^^0.. Your classmates, too. 



12 EUie Laura; or, 

EUie Laura. Esta is pleased : I saw her yesterday. 
Clara I met this morning by the way — 
She is delighted. Ida jumps with joy. 
The rest you soon will see ; and as for me — 

Enters a class of children. 

Teresa. I wish you all a happy holiday. 

All answer. Thanks ? Thanks, dear Sister ! 

Teresa, I shan't spend your time 

This morning ; when religious exercise 

Is ended, ye depart. 
All. Thanks, Sister, thanks I 

Teresa. Which is the morning verse to Christ, our Lord ? 
Esta and three others. 

O Christ, Almighty King of Kings, 

Before all ages born, 

Whose light from light its splendor flings 

O'er Sion's cloudless morn — 
Teresa. To Mary, Virgin ? 
Clara and three others, 

O Queen of grace and peerless power, 

Bright mirror of the Word, 

Of Sion's gate unconquered tower — 

Hail, Mother of the Lord ! 
Teresa. To Saint Patnck, next, 

Apostle of lerne of the streams ? 
Delia and three others. 

O Patrick, Ireland's glorious Paul 1 

O father ever blest ! 



The Border Orphan. 13 

O glorious son of glorious Gaul ! 
Great Primate of tlie West I 
Tere.<a. Children, what is your prayer to Ireland's saint ? 
AIL While grow the trees, 
While blows the breeze, 
While water seeks the sea. 
His Faith with us may be ! 
Terem. To Mary, YirgLU, and to Christ, onr Lord ? 
AIL O Mother, pray for us in every strife I 

O Jesus, grant us everlastiug life ! 
TereiiOL Let us, to-day, by our appointment state. 
Concise and clear, what Holy Church enjoins, 
What doctrines mould the Catholic intellect. 
What laws the Christian will must needs obey. 
Why human minds to Heaven's decrees mu^t bow. 
Say, Clara, fii'st — whence springs the light that sheds 
lis rays resistless on the human soul ? 
Clara, T^o lights illumine man. There is the light 
Which reason, the Creator's mirror, shows ; 
There is the lisfht two Revelations write : 
These lights from Light, are not, nor can be foes. 
In characters indelible and bright. 
From them the laws for mind and will arose ; 
Sealed with the seal of God before all time began, 
Xo age, no change know they. Two hghts illumine 
man. 
Teresa. But since in Revelation mysteries 
There are, high and incomprehensible ; 
Which, Ida, tell are those we needs must know ? 
Ida. Throughout the Roman uiiiversal fold, 



14 Ellie Laura ; or, 

Five mysteries, principal, we Lold ; 
One only God and Triune 'fore all time. 
That God Incarnate, dead, from death sublime ; 
To God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 
All worship due from man and augels' host! 

Teresa. Will Ellie Laura please explain the laws — 

The ties of love that lie twixt us and God ? 
Ellie Laura. Alas! how weak and worthless we, 

Pale creatures of pale miser}^, 

High children of high destiny I 

Praise to the Lord alone ! 

Doth not each wight, that crawls through time, 
Since born of God, though out of slime, 
In oneness show the One sublime ? 
Praise to the Lord alone ! 

Doth not the immortal spirit pass 
Heavenward from its earthly mass, 
And let it moulder as the grass ? 
Praise to the Lord alone ! 

Humanity in coffins j)ent 
Groaned Abba, till the Father sent 
His Son, and rent that tenement : 
Praise to the Lord alone ! 

The Son appeared, like as the day. 
And on lost man outpoured His ray 
To recreate created clay : 

Praise to the Lord a' one ! 



4 



J 



The Border Orphan. 15 

And when the Son had built the dome, 
He sent the Spirit to His Home, 
Within the deathless Church of Rome : 
Praise to the Lord alone ! 

We are of God — to God we go ; 
From Christ all grace, all truth must flow ; 
Shall we not in Christ's Spirit grow, 
And praise the Lord alone ? 

AR. We praise the Lord alone ! 

Teresa. Now, the Ten Laws unto the Hebrews given 
With signs of darkness, mist, and cloud, and light, 
And on the Mount interpreted by Christ, 
Last, as ten pillars of the moral code, 
And bind the will of man. The Sacraments, 
As streams, flow through the city of the soul. 
And sound the seven voices of the Lord, 
Murmuring musically. Sacrifice, 
Prayer, good deeds, penances, as incense, rise 
From all good Catholics unto God's throne. 
Lovely as melting mists in mellow morn. 
But how do Catholics unto the Lord 
The homage of the intellect declare ? 

Delia. By faith. 

Rosa. By the Creed. 

Teresa. There arc many creeds ; 

Some made by Councils, some by Fathers, some 
By Popes. Of the Apostles one is named, 



16 EUle Laura; or, 

"Which doth consist of twelve short articles, 
Each framed by one of the twelve chosen chiefs. 
Let twelve the parts of the twelve chiefs declare. 

Agnes for Peter. I, Peter, do this testimony bear : 

There is one God o'er heaven, and earth, and air ; 
All things from Him, Almighty Father, spring — 
The viewless, deathless, uncreated King. 

Teresa. Next. 

The Lord is love, and love is light ; 
Eternal Light, the Father's sheen, 
With boundless love and boundless might. 
Is made the Christ — I, John, have seen. 

Teresi. Third. 

Ethel for James. Hail, Mother Mary, fall of grace ! 
From thee by Spirit's shadowing face 

Impregued, His birth Christ claims. 

This is the witness of St. James. 
Teresa, Fourth. 

Ann for Andrew. When Roman Pilate ruled the Jew, 

The cross was lifted for a throne ; 

And Christ his blinded people slew — 

I, Andrew, saw His tomb of stone. 
Teresa. Fifthly, Anastasia. 

Anastasiafor Philip. The Christ descended to the dead, 

Glad tidings to the saints to bring ; 

On the third day. resurgent Jesus led 

The imprisoned, as their heavenly King. 



The Border Orphan. 17 

Teresa. Sixth article. 

The Lord in glory heavenward rose, 
And captive led His vanquished foes ; 
On God's right hand He sits on high : 
These truths I believe, though Thomas I. 
Teresa. Which is the seventh, say ? 

Jane fur Bartholomew. Woe ! woe to the nations ! Woe ! 
woe to the Jew ! 
For all nations shall wail and the Lord's day shall rue, 
And Jesus will judge both the living and dead. 
Yea ! This is the truth which Bartholomew said. 
Teresa, What saith St. Matthsw, the Evangelist ? 
Hannah for Matthew. The Holy Spirit, Vivifying Mas- 
ter see — 
The Third and Holy Person of the Trinity. 
Teresa. Cora, what saith St. James of Alpheus ? 
Cora for St. James. St. James one, holy Charch, and 
Catholic, defined. 
And Saints communion not by this world's sphere 
confined. 
Teresa. St. Simon? 

Delia for St. Simon. The church hath power men's sins 

to bind and unbind. 
Teresa. And St. Jude ? 

Winnie for St. Jude. Arise ! arise, ye dead, from out 
the grave. 
Be clothed with the frames ye knew before — 
Teresa, Mathias, last? 



18 EUie Laura ; or, 

Angelina for Matliias. What part the Christ, as judge, in 
judgment gave — 
Of joys or woes ; that hold ye ever more. 

Teresa. These are the truths, a gracious Saviour brought 
From viewless worlds ; and His disciples' words 
Have spell 3, as memory of music loved. 
Like chimes of distant bells, they sound all time. 
At morn, at noon, at eventide, and call 
Us from this world away — home, ever home. 
The friend that solaces the broken heart. 
The child that soothes the tear of mother's woe. 
The traveller bearing wealth and knowledge home, 
The bowels of mercy, and the balm of hearts 
Full and overflowing with benevolence ; 
These have charms, but round the Saviour's name 
Their rays concentrate to one living flame. 
Ere you depart, to Christ, the Saviour pray. 

All O Christ, the Saviour ! prolong our days, 
O Virgin Mother, Mary ! guard our ways, 

Patrick ! warm our hearts with living rays 
Of love, to ever sing the Saviour's praise I 

{Exeunt Omnes,) 

SCENE 11. 

In the Country by the Biver Illinois. 

She Buffalo. Wma, come hither. Walla AValk, come. 

1 wish to talk of times long since gone by. 



The Border Orphan, • 19 

Wina. She Buffalo ! 

Walla Walla. She Buffalo! 

She Buffalo. Sit here. 

Look towards the river. I have often heard, 

"When I was small, Shabnaye's great-grandfather 

Said, this whole vale was by the river filled 

From hill to hill. The waters washed yon heights. 

Pale faces never saw that great, great sight. 

But that was many hundred moons ago. 

And yonder, one day's walk along the stream, 

There are big heaps of earth with many dead. 

Their bones would build the homes of all the Whites. 

The heaps are on the hills. The Indians came. 

When ice was on the stream from hill to hill, 

And walked across to see the big, big bones — 

The big, big skulls of our old Indian braves. 

In coming from the lands where sets the sun, 

They counted many moons. They brought with them 

Dead braves, dead squaws, and dead papooses too. 

They looked up to the heavens, and in right line 

Walked by the stars. Big fires blazed on the heights^ 

Like the red sun at eve. From yonder heights 

The Red man goes to the far hunting grounds. 

Wina and Walla Walla, never stir 

The bones or skulls within those heaps of earth ; 

For the Great Spirit guards the Indians there. 

But always do what says She-Buffalo. 

Shabnaye is hunting bears. Sing songs for me. 



20 Ellie Laura; or, 

Walla Walla. I sing a song that's old one thousand 
moons ; 

Song. 

On desert and on mountain, 

By liver and by stream, 

Where glows the silver fountain 

And glistens the bright beam — 

In the west, in the west far away, 

Sings the Red man as dieth the day 

There is nouo^ht like the land of Shabiiaye I 

For prairies, streams, and wild wood, I 

For bull, and bear, and deer, " 

For nature's fairest childhood 

The buffalo to cheer — 

In the west, in the west far away. 

Sings the Red man as dieth the day, 

There is nought like the land of Shabuaye ! 

The blue bird chirps so sweetly, 

And whoops the whippowill. 

And coos the chicken meetly. 

And sips the duck its fill ; 

In the west, in the west far away, 

Sings the red man as dieth the day, ■) 

There is nought like the land of Shabnaye ! 

She-Buffalo. 'Tis not so now. Where the white man j 

appears, * 

The Red man must leave. The bear, the deer, 



The Border Orphan. 21 

The i^rairie chicken, and the buffalo 

Follow the sun with the Red man to the West. 

White man comes with the morning from the East, 

Like grasshoj^pers. We go to night and death. 

Yet linger we by yonder heaps of earth. 

Where Red man sleeps for thousands of full moons. 

Wiua, sing you the hymn of the dead braves. 

8ong. 

Wina. Great spirit of the wind and hill, 
Whose voice is heard in storms; 
Bright be the grounds where Buffalo Bill 
His tents and wigwams forms ! 
Great spirit of the thunder-cloud, 
Whose fire is Red at night; 
Swift be the steed, and war-dance proud 
Of brave, but dead. Red Light! 

And Red Light had a noble squaw. 

She sleeps in yonder mound ; 

Sweet be thy sleep, brave Minelia, 

In happy hunting ground ! 

Great spirit of the Red man's lands. 

To thee the Red men pray ; 

Great spirit ! hear, when Red man stands 

By tombs of brave Shabnaye ! 
She-Buffalo. When I go to the happy hunting grounds, 
Do not forget these songs. You think of me. 
I learned them, when I was papoose like you. 
Ho! Ho! Shabnaye! Shabnave! 



22 EUie Laurie ; oi\ 

Papooses. Sliabnaje I 

Shabnaye. She-Buffalo, papooses, stand ye still. 
I hunted miles beyond our home — away 
Beyond our home where Highland is — away 
In Indian land. Met deer, met buffalo, 
Killed deer, killed buffalo, killed elk, killed birds. 
In Black Hawk's lands. Black Hawk with all his 

braves 
Is on the war-path. Crouching Bear with him. 
Blue Button, Black Cap, Spotted Tail, Wa-Wa, 
Wild Horse, Big Mountain, Wasatch, Goring Bull, 
With all their braves in paint, come like the wind. 
They kill the white man, white papoose, white squaw. 
Two weeks I came, fast as the sun, to tell 
The White man hide. Like prairie fire, they come. 
The fire of burning houses, like red clouds 
From world's end to world's end. I killed a bear 
Near our own wigam by the Illinois. 
Wina and Walla-Walla, rest ye here. 
She-Buffalo brings food and seeks the woods. 
I tell the Black Gown and his Sisters hide. 

Exeunt Shabncye and She-Buffalo, Shabnaye shouting. 

Whites ! the Bed man fight his way, 
Whites ! the Bed man ne'er betray. 
Whites ! Shabnaye, your friend Shabnaye, 
Never bend the knee. 
Papooses. Let us go too. Let us go too. Quick ! quick I 

Exeunt papooses. 



The Border Orphan. 23 

Enter Sister's Stanislaus, Constantia, and Irene. 

Stanislaus. Now all is ready for the day and guests. 
Tlie children with their friends will soon be here, 
And well it fares with little waifs thus far. 
Constantia, did you see papooses here? 

Constantia. I did. They fled, like hares, at our approach ; 
Their manners are so rude. Reared in the wilds. 
And nothing knowing of cultured life — ^Door things ! — 
Why not their habits a wild impress wear? 
What bird will on the branch thy presence wait ? 

/rune. They are papooses of Shabnaye. Awhile 

And we shall see them, and, it may be, Shabnaye 

Himself, and his good squaw, She-Buffalo. 

From time to time, they come to sell eggs, fish. 

Birds, meat, fruit, vegetables, and the like. 

They pluck wild flowers and form them into wreaths 

Of shapel}^ form and sweetest fragrancy. 

I have seen moccasins, inlaid with beads. 

And worked with skill surpassing the far East. 

Shabnaye, She-Buffalo, and all his tribe, 

Are friendly Indians. 

Stanislaus. 01, i that they remained ? 

Irene. They know right well our Black Gown, Father 
Tom. 
At times the Indians have a feast. They dance, 
They yell, sing war-songs and if possible— 

Condantia. Do what ? 

Irene. Get drunk and leave some one to watch— 

Constantia. Watch what? 



2i Ellk Laurie : or, 

J Why, watcli without a drink at all, 

And under strictest pain of life. Next time, 

The watchman will be free. 
,, . , It is a sharae, 

A degradation of America, 

To brutalize the savage, and instil 

Into his rude and undeveloped soul, 

The passions that true Christian manhood stain, 

I'd much more rather be a wild Red Mnn, 

With nature rude and uncontaminate, 

Than a foul pestilential poison thus ! 

The wild Red man may roam the darkest woods— 

They speak to him of God and liberty 1 

The wild Red man, or swims or fioats the stream- 
It ennobles and lifts him up to God ! 
The wild Red man surveys the prairie wido — 
Its outspreading expanse swells him to G .<1 1 
There is a something grand and undeliued. 
An innate and exalted effluence, 
A spirit that bestirs the elements, 
Shed over this wide hemisphere and wild. 
And mantles o'er the Red man's brow with pride. 
//v/u\ You, Stanislaus, are always serious; 

Know you not what She-Buffalo has done ? 

Condantia. Did what ? 

2^.^^^^. She skinned a gopher, and as fish 

Sold it to the Black Gown. 
Slanidaus, "Untrue! Untrue! 

Irene, That'so. The other diy, she, Ukewise, said 



The Border Orphan. 25 

She saw Black Gown, a man with small brown eyes. 
Hooked nose, and shoulders like a buffalo, 
Barefoot, and jumping with a long, long pole 
From cake to cake of ice along the Blinois. 

Stanislaus. Enough ! Enough ! 

Irene. Yes! She said she had seen 

A big dead bear upon his back ; and he 
Went barefoot, walking straight like her Shabnaye. 

Eater Black Gown, Ellie Laura, Glara, Eda, Ida and many 

more. 
Black Gown. We sought jou through the fields, and met 
at last. 
How's Stanislaus ? Constantia? How Irene ? 

Irene. Now, 'tis the month of May 

And all the earth is gay. 
Black Gown. I met Teresa and the rest. Success — 

Yes ! Yes ! to-day is surely a success. 

The young ones seem so bright, so satisfied. 

Even old folks look gay and glad to-day. 

What is the matter \^ith this gentle girl? 

Alone she seems so settled and so sad. 
Stanislaus. Perhaps, she may tlie cause in verse (explain. 
Ellie Laura. To know is mine, but to assuage in vain. 

Song. 

I am a lone and orphan child, 

And I am sad as few : 

When young, my home was in the wild 

That skirts sweet xVvondhu. 



2() Ellie Laura; or^ 

And I was forced to cross the main 
And wander to the West, 
Till wandering on I found it vain 
To find one spot of rest. 

No fields, no flowers, no streams, no skies. 
Can paint or bless the view, 
Since there's a spell for me where lies 
My home by Avondhu. 

My mother lives by foreign shore. 
Or moulders by the main ; 
My father I shall see once more, 
Unless my hope is vain. 

I am a lone and orphan child, 

And I am sad as few ; 

When young, my home was in the wild 

That skirts sweet Avondhu. 

Black Goivn. In the old land there are three Avondhus ; 

Is there a trio for America ? 1 

Trio's Song. — ( Clara, Esta, Ida. ) 

Clara for Illinois. My home is in proud Illinois, 
And I extol the West : 
My heart exults and calls with joy, 
My home the home of rest. 

Repeated by trio. 



The Border Orphan. 27 

Eslafor Massachusetts. "Where Massachusetts stems the sea, 
Upon the beaton shore — 
There is the home of liberty, 
The home that I adore. 

Repeated by trio. 

Ida for New York. The Hudson forms a noble bay, 
The sister of proud Cork ; 
My heart and soul are in the lay 
That swells to grand New York ! 

Repeated hy frio, 

Bki'i- Gown. I hear some noise abroad, as that of fear — 

Enter Teresa, Grotty, Kinsella, McGennis, and others. 
Teresa. We come on sad and sudden circumstance : 

Black Hawk is on the war-path ! Sudden rise, 

Sudden haste to dark woods, and sudden hide ! 

Some to Shabnaye and some to Kinsella — 
Black Gown. Good God! what sudden, dire calamity! 

O Lord ! show forth Thy power, protect Thy friends ! 

No night but knows the rising of a day — 

All depart saying, 
O God ! soon show the rising of that day ! 

SCENE III. 
In Shabnaye's Wigwam. 

Etlie Laura soliloquizing. Alas ! O that the men were 
never born. 
Who built the ship that hither wafted me I 



28 Ellie Laura; or, 

O would the waves had swallowed her at sea, 
Aud thus anticipated this my doom ! 
O had I perished in my younger days, 
And had not lived to taste of trials thus ! 
Ah ! that my mind had slept in infant form ; 
And sorrow after sorrow had not swept 
Across my path to bend me to the earth, 
A weeping willow looking on the grave ! 
Ah ! well-a-day ! Again. Ah ! well-a-day I 

Enter Papooses. 

Papooses. Don't mourn, don't mourn. She-Buifalo not 
pleased. 

Walla Walla. We always do what says She-Baffalo. 

Wina. She-Buffalo will soon be here again. 

Walla Walla, And, then, we all be glad — 

Papooses. We all be glad. 

Ellie Laura. Ah ! were my heart as blithe and uncon- 
cerned 
As that which in your little bosoms heaves, 
And were I, gentle little Indians, born 
In forests, and in forests reared from youth ; 
Like you, with hearts unthinking and unawed, 
Heedless, light-hearted, playful, I would be. 
The birds' sweet song, as heavenly melody, 
Would ring by deep, wide-sweeping Illinois. 
Entranced I would the live-long day remain. 
And wander by its banks, and see the beams 
Dance on its eddies, and wild birds approach 



The Border Orphan. 29 

Its face with kisses and with outspread Avings, 
And fishes fi'olicsome along its waves. 
And the calm roseate face of forest inorD, 
AVith all its freshness and its noiseless charms, 
Would be to me delightful ; and at eve 
The setting sun, with golden canopy, 
And fair embroidery of silver hue, 
Above and round his far horizon throne, 
Shedding effulgence, effluence, and balm, 
Afar o'er stream, and wood, and plain, and lake — 
Ah ! such to me enchantment were, to make 
The bear's roar sweet, the wolf's howl musical : 
Ah ! w^ell-ardaj^ ! Again. Ah ! well-a-day ! 

Papooses. Don't mourn, don't mourn, She-Buffalo not 
pleased. 

Wina. She-Buffalo soon come. 

Walla Walla. Sing songs. 

Fapoosen Sing songs. 

Ellie Laura. Song. 

Oh ! I met with two angels in woodland all wild ; 

Heavenly beauty their countenance wore. 

And they strove to console a disconsolate child. 

And alas ! it grew worse thaij before. 

The light which they shed but increased the deep 

gloom 
Of that child's weary life and its pain ; 
Since its sorrows had marked it a child of the tomb, 
And to strive to console it w^ere vain. 



30 EUie Laura; or, 

Then the two little angels looked up to the sky, 

And spoke of the joys that are there : 

" Must thou grieve, gentle child, while those man- 
sions on high 

Look so splendid, so happy, so fair ?'* 

" No, no," said the child, " with bright wings I shall go 

From the earth with its sorrow and gloom ; 

This one joy I must have in the depth of my woe, 

Though I am a child of the tomb." 
Papooses. She-Buffalo soon come. She pleased. She 
pleased. 

Papoose,<. 

Duette on the Gopher 

Down by the stream, 

At morning beam, 

The happy little gopher 

Came on his way 

To find some prey. 

Like any other loafer 

At early morn, 

Hard by the corn, 

The two of us were playing, 

And, when we saw 

His little paw, 

We stayed where we were staying. 

Oh ! the gopher. 

The dear and happy goplier 1 



The Border Orphan. 31 

Cuuglit at morn 

Hard by tlie com, 

Our happy little gopher ! 

With teeth he chips 
Outside his lips, 
As sharp as any other ; 
And with big cheeks 
He loudly squeaks. 
He wants his little brothcu- ; 
But in the grouud 
He'll ne'er be found 
As long as we are able — 
But he'Jl be fed, 
Just near our bed, 
Beneath our little table. 
Oh ! the gopher. 
The dear and happy gopher ! 
Caught at morn, 

Hard by the corn, 

Our happy littlo gopher ! 

Popoosv^v. Heigh! beigh ! She-Buffalo! She-Buffalo! 

She mouro, she mcairn — papoose with the pale face. 
She-Buffalo. Poor white papoose, hear me. I bave a heart. 

When brave Shabnuye comes back, we have good 
ne\^ s. 

Shabnaye was on the war-path many times — 

As many times as days are in one moon. 

He always comes with scal[)S of brave and squaws. 



32 ElJle LiC'ra ; 0'.\ 

Likewise this time he comes with many scoJps. 
Let us pow-wow. Be brave like Indian squaw. 

Eilie Laura, Would that my soul were made of hardti 
t,tuff! 
The rock wears by the trickling of a drop ; 
'Tis time my face were furrowed by its tears. 
Scarce had I laughed to my fond mother's smile, 
When I was from her bosom torn away, 
And wafted o'er a wide and angry sea, 
To grow 'mong strangers in a foreign clime, 
Like plants in sunshine born and from light taken. 
Again, to father lost, and orphan found, 
And hurried from companionship and friends 
To new companionship, new friends, new homes, 
What, Ksave religion, was there to me left ? 
After e'er changing and e'er losing life, 
What now confronts me, but a home in woods. 
Surrounded by wil 1 beasts and wilder men ? 
Ah ! well-a-day ! Again. Ah ! well-a-day ! 

She- Buffalo. Tlie White man thinks the Eed man has no 
heart. 
We have good, kindly hearts. We know our wrongs. 
We feel hard deeds, and do not wail as you. 
We've lost our lands. Away from the far East, 
We have been driven towards the setting sun. 
We have not buffalo, elk, deer, birds, fish. 
As we used have. We're always growing few, 
Like leaves of trees of forests in the Fall ; 
We have iJr.i^e Indian hearts, and do not mourn. 



RRMffiKannaHHMai 



Thi Border Orphan. ?^ 

"We Indians have good eyes, big strength, kind hearts 
Before the White nuiu, and we must perform 
His works, and do his will, and do not mourn. 
Poor, white papoose ! I will take care of you ; 
I have a kind, good heart — Oh ! do not mourn ! 

E lie Laura. Ah, me ! I would I might not mourn, 
But I must mourn agaiu, 
Since I was from a father torr, 
And mother mourn in vain. 

And two lost brotl>sr« I dfeplore — 
Their loss would melt a stone ; 
And I must mourn, and moura the more, 
That I am now alone. 

Misfortunes now my joys destroy, 
And I love nought I hail ; 
Here in the land of Illmois, 
My joy is endless wail. 

She-Buffalo. Ho ! Ho ! Here are three white papooses. See ! 

Ellie Laura. Hnil ! ye com^^amions of my woe, 
Can ye in sorrows joy? 
Can yo, with me, all hopes forego 
And wail through Illinois ? 

Though fortune press^es woe on woe, 
As darkly as the night ; 
In all its darkness there's a glow— 
Corapanianship is light ! 



34 EUie Laura; o?% 

^ The trio. 

Clara. No tribulations shall destroy 

Our liopes of good, our hopes of joy, 
Or make us wail through Illinois 
Endlessly. 

Repeated by the trio. 

Esta. No terrors ought a coward make, 

No woes a pure soul's manhood break, 
Nor should a noble spirit quake 
Needlessly. 

Repeated by the trio. 

The Polar night knows equal day. 
AVe hopi) ifi God, we trust Shabnaye, 
And dark calamities survey 
Fearlessly. 

Repeated by the trio. 

She-Buffalo. Brave ! brave ! papooses, how have ye es- 
caped ? 

Eda. Escaped ! — why, we directly sought the woods. 
There to await the passing of the storm ; 
When Black Hawk's bands were known to be at war. 
Bounding like buffaloes behind Shabnaye, 
Some screamed, some wept, some prayed, and some 

despaired. 
There was no time to lose. Now, one long night, 
At times in anxious thought, at times in fear, 
Is passed. The luncheon for our holiday 



The Border Orphan. 35 

We changed to rations, and the wood as walls 
Eose wild and dark around us, and the moss 
As pillow served, and stars were hung as lamps 
In the pale sky above us, and oui- home 
AVas solitude, and our defense was God. 

Ida. Yea ! even when from the dense underbrush, 
Where we lay hidden, we beheld the smoke 
Of burning houses blackly cloud the sky, 
And when we heard the wierd war-whoop of fiends 
Madly pursuing their way as raging wolves. 
And when we saw their fires on yonder heights 
Shining at dead of night, while round them rode 
Chieftains with painted faces, and bedecked 
With plumes, and blazing scarlet, and bright blue. 

Clara. But we were sad — lamenting, it may be. 

The death of our dear mates and our fond friends. 
For them we mourned much more than for ourselves ; 
And thy fate, EUie Laura, crossed our minds. 

Elite Laura. It is not home nor life I mourn, 
Nor things that glad the eye. 
For since I was from a father torn, 
I do not pause to die. 

Ida. And now the war- tide of Black Hawk is passed. 
His trail was westward — ever westward. Ho ! 
This morn, as rose the sun, he left yon heights 
And highlands for the far Mississippi ; 
Crotty we met, who sent us to Shabnaye. 



oG Ellie Laura ; oi\ 

She-Buffalo. The war irail now is o'er, 
Black Hawk will come no more, 
Nor Wa- Wa paint with gore : 
llejoice ! rejoice ! rejoicc:! ! 

Wild Horse, nor Crouchin*.^ Bear, 
Nor Goring Bull, will wear 
The White squaw's flowing hair : 
Ilejoicy ! rejoice ! rejoice ! 

Of all the Keds that stray 

Along the forest way, 

There's none like brave Shabnaye : _ 

Rejoice! rejoice! rejoice I 

Unequalled in the fray, 

Unable to betray, 

There'.s none Uke brave Shabnaye : 

Kf^joice! rejoice! rejoice! 

With many scalps to day, 
Home — home returns all gay, 
Shabnaye, the brave Shabnaye 
Rejoice ! rejoice ! rejoice ! 

Enter Crotty aid Kinaella. 
Crottij. So, so She-Buffalo. You are all here. 

Well, that is good. These young ones are all safe. 

So are all, all. Black Hawk has missed his mark. 

Two comiDanies of Union troops are cojne. 
Kinmlla. Though we have lost some houses, it is well 

Our scalps are safe : we o ve it to Sbabnaye. 



The Border Orphan. 37 

Enters Shabnaye, 

Shahnaye. Ho ! Ho ! Slie-Baffalo ! Ho ! Kinsella— 
All. Loiiglive Shabn;iye ! Long live Sliabn;iye ! Shabutne I 
(Jrolly. We come, Sliabnaye, commissioned by the town 

To give to you tine and eternal thanks. 

Wo give you houses, horses, money, lands. 

The Wliite Man's heart is ever with Shabnaje. 
Shabnaye. I thank you and I always fight for White man. 
Enter Teresa, Sianialaus, Condaniia and Irene. 

Shabnaye ! we come to tender you our thanks. 

You have saved us, our pupils, and uur friends. 

Whilst life remains, we shan't forget Shabnaye. 

And thanks She-Buffalo. 
Shabnaye. I fight for Black Gown. 

Crotty. Here, Sistei", are the four whom you have missed. 
Teresa. A Col »nel, Ellie Laura, looks for you — 

I think it is for you. 
Ellie Laura. I cannot speak. 

So Sad am L 
Teresa. A father seeks a child. 

CYotty. What says he? 

Teresa. ' Ellie Laura is her name. 

ElUe Laura. Where does he hail from ? 
Theresa. Hails from Avondhu. 

Ellie Lauri. Did he have other children ? 
Teresa. Yes. Two sojis. 

Etlie Laura. Where are these children ? 
Teresa. Dead. 



38 Eilie Latiric ; or, 

ELlie Laura. Wlitre ia his wife ? 

Terem. His wife is buried close by Avoiidhu. 
EUie Laura. Good God ! what is his height, his form, his 
size, 

His age; complexion^ color, features — 
CruUy. Stop. 

To-day we come to thank the brave Shabnaye ; 

Sin^,^ for the chief, if such be thy desire. 

Tbat colonel in Columbia's name will come 

To thank the great, the good, the brave Shabnaye ! 

Song. 

EUie Laura. Oh ! had I but the one that I see ; 

Oh ! how quickly my sorrows would flee, 
And how blithe and how happy I'd be. 
And I would fain rejoice ! 

Oh! had I but the \oy that I know^ ; 
Oh ! how sweetly my song would then flow, 
And still younger and younger I'd grow, 
Till I knew father's voice ! 

Eaters the ColoneL 
Colonel. Shabnaye ! big chief, protector of the whites, 
I come to express the gratitude of alL 
Hear ! The Great Father speaks from Washington. 
Here are his thanks, his presents to Shrbnaye. 

iShahnaye lakes the presents. 

Shabnaye has never yet the whites betrayed — 
Shabnaye was never yet of foes afraid — 



The Border Orphan. 39 

Sliabnaye his rank and name will ne'er degrade — 
Sliabnaye will be Shabnaje, though presents fade ! 
EUie Laura is led by the hand and presented to her faiher by 
Sister Ter-esa. Colonel ! thy long lost daughter, thy loved 
child, 
I here present to thee. Thanks to Shabnaye — 
Or rather thanks to God, who, through Shabnaye, 
Hath saved the Whites, and after many years 
Of sundered feeliugs, deep sighs, and saddened hearts, 
Eestores unto the father from the wild 
His Ellie Laura, long lost orphan child. 
Pure, spotless, loving, lovely, undefiled. 



EPILOGUE. 

Acrostic to Sisters of Saint Joseph, Mother Teresa. 

Some love to roam in lands of peace — 

In lands of glory and of lore ; 

Some praise the hills and isles of Greece 

That look magnificent and hoar. 

Enriched with legendary store, 

Home rises grandly o'er the rest, 

Since her proud Egale fluttered o'er 

Orient, Afric, and the West, 

Fierce, fiery, matchless, and supreme confessed. 

Still lives America with spells. 

And envies not these ancient lands : 

In her God's architecture dwells, 

Nor mars the mimicry of hands — 

There is a spell where mountain stands 

Joined with the dark and deep ravine, 

Or where the prairie plain expands. 

Sad, solemn, sombre, and serene, 

Eariched with streams, and garmented with gi-een. 

Proud land ! I love thy storms and flood — 
liark ! where thy mighty mouii tains rise, 



Epilogue. 41 

Magic in might and multitude ; 
Or where thine azure ample skies 
Throw their bright canopies 
High o'er thy vasty realms all gay. 
Elate we see with gladdened eyes 
Rude nations from these lands deca^', 
Though theirs was once Shabnaye — the brave Shab- 
nayei 

Eulightened hearers, here we pause, 

Rest, spirit of the brave Shabnaye ! 

Ellie — sweet EUie Laura's cause. 

Still westward moves, as moves the day. 

And sounds, where sounded songs of brave Shabnaya. 



BmoKHOR 



